Customer Reviews

Bodum Shin Bistro 51-Ounce Coffee Press

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have had this coffee press for about a week now and I've used it every day. It brews a wicked cup of coffee, and makes great loose leaf tea as well. The coffee is never bitter due to the emulsification of oils from the coffee beans, and you can actually enjoy it black if you like. Due to the large size, I can actually brew a whole carafe of tea and refrigerate it for iced tea later. The design is beautiful, and it is quite functional as well. All of the parts from the filter come apart easily and only require a quick rinse between uses. The carafe itself is glass, which does mean that it is a bit more fragile than something stainless or plastic. This is great for me, though, because the flavor of the coffee or tea isn't compromised, and I can actually see the brew color. Liquids stay warm for a while, about twenty minutes or so, and you really don't want to leave anything in a french press for longer than than because coffee and tea will become bitter. For people who are worried about breaking the glass, I would suggest a silicone trivet (useful in the kitchen anyway) on the counter-top to cushion the carafe from granite or hard surfaces. The only negative thing that I can say about this press is that water and liquid does get underneath the metal ring that secures the handle to the glass. It dries pretty quickly though, and if you're careful you can keep this to a minimum. Since I have only had the press for a week, I can't say whether or not rust will develop. Hopefully not, and it shouldn't because it is stainless steel. Overall, a lovely little coffee press with a good size (about equal to most large drip carafes), and some of the best coffee you've ever had.

I was looking for a large coffee press as I drink a lot of coffee. I love the design of this. I experienced none of the issues described in the previous review. This is a great coffee press.

In an ongoing (and failing) quest to find a perfect glass pitcher in which to brew and serve iced tea, I had an epiphany. I was pouring coffee from my 4-cup Bodum Chambord press one morning and realized that here was an all-glass "pitcher" that handled near-boiling water with no issue. I was essentially steeping in it every morning, albeit with grounds instead of leaves. So certainly I could make hot tea with the press, but would it work for iced tea?

My desire was to be able to brew my tea in the press, add ice, press down and refrigerate while drinking for 2-3 days without any haze/continued extraction occurring. I was skeptical that I'd be able to avoid the latter, but it was worth a shot. After a number of successful (and quite delicious) brews with the 4-cup model, I knew I had to get a larger press. Enter the Shin Bistro 51-ounce Press.

I've now owned this for over a month and I'm doing as I listed above, which I will summarize here:

1. Scoop four heaping teaspoons of loose tea of your choice into the press. I currently use Rishi Golden Yunnan and Rishi Ceylon mixed in varying proportions.
2. Pour hot water (I use about 200ºF) over the tea to about half the capacity of the press and brew for your desired period. Generally I brew for 6 minutes.
3. Add filtered ice to fill the press, place the lid on, and press down gently until the ice is resting against the leaves at the bottom of the press. Generally I have to wait a few minutes for the ice to completely or near completely melt. I find it's important to get the plunger depressed as far as it will go as soon as you can and not to wait until the next day.
4. Pour and enjoy.

I have had no trouble with the iced tea lasting in the fridge for 3 days without any noticeable decrease in quality. No chill haze, no overextracted bitterness.

Once the tea is done, I disassemble the press and put the parts in the dishwasher. It all fits in my top rack and comes out ready to serve me again.

The quality of this press is good. I do not like that the glass beaker is not simply removable from the handle and stainless band. That is, you leave it on unless you're replacing the beaker, in which case you need to use tools. I do think it gets clean but I always prefer disassembling things completely before cleaning. For this reason, I have demoted my rating by one star.

Still, a very good product and a great solution to my problem.

I was attracted by the shape of the carafe and the borosilicate glass, but the plunger lid assembly are shoddily made, unlike other Bodum coffee presses I have used. The plunger shaft, plastic sleeve for the shaft that is supposed to remain seated in the lid, and inner plastic lid component with strainer are supposed to remain attached but do not. They flop loosely, the plastic sleeve has to be re-seated every time, and the inner lid put back in place. Using the coffee press is clumsy and uncomfortable. I give two stars instead of one because you can still brew coffee with it, but cannot recommend the purchase for these reasons.

I use this press most days of the week and I like it very much. It seems more sturdy than the other Bodum presses (with the removable glass beakers.)

Love the french press, but have used it for less than 3 months and the glass carafe has already cracked! Have to buy a replacement already!

You can't go wrong with Bodum. After our Krups coffee maker broke three times and we had to live without coffee when it was being repaired I decided I neeeded a backup plan. So I purchased this just to have for emergencies. Now I do not own an electic coffee maker because I love and PREFER my Bodum french press. Just as easy to clean. Size is great and flavor is phenomenal.

I purchased through Guayaki for Yerba Mate tea. Works great! I highly recommend!

I have just about every size of the Bodum bistros and have always enjoyed them. I have made my coffee this way since the late 80s.
Unfortunately, bodum now has a different plunger that gets really hot on the top (since it's metal ... original model was made of plastic so it didn't conduct heat)and it leaks. By that I mean when you push the plunger in and then pour the coffee, a lot of the coffee drips down the side of the beeker, creating a real mess. And don't forget, this is really hot coffee that's dripping all over the place. I wouldn't recommend this purchase to anyone.

Due to my favorable experience with Bodum products in the past, I was looking for a Bodum coffee press with a large capacity. I thought I had found the perfect solution when I saw this on Amazon. Bodum coffee presses have always been quality, long lasting products and I had no reason to expect otherwise when I ordered this. Unfortunately, I should have taken into consideration that this poorly designed product does not have any protection for the glass carafe. As soon as I pulled it from the box, I noticed that unlike the other Bodum presses we own, there was no cage/stand attached to the handle. This exposes the glass beaker to breakage since there is nothing to protect it from banging on (in our case, granite) countertops or sinks. Although we were extremely careful, the carafe broke within 3 months of purchase while my wife was washing it..

To add insult to injury, when I was ordering the replacement beaker, I noticed that now Bodum now offers this same unit with the protective metal stand. This improved unit costs less than 10 dollars more than I paid a few months ago for the poorly designed coffee press we now own. Since I had to pay eighteen bucks for the replacement carafe, I already have more invested into this inferior product than the cost of the better unit.

Although it does make great coffee, DO NOT BUY this particular model. Get the model linked below instead and be happy:

[...]